


Simpler Times

by Lambda_ghoul



Series: Per Aspera Ad Desiderium [2]
Category: Ghost (Swedish Band)
Genre: Adventure, Clergy Life, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, No names stated, This is a prequel to the series, Will probably be revealed later in this fic, You'll have to make some guesses out of the clues in the story, a bit of mystery, i guess??, monastic life, not sure how to tag this, plot heavy, sort of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-14
Updated: 2016-11-21
Packaged: 2018-08-31 02:04:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8559091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lambda_ghoul/pseuds/Lambda_ghoul
Summary: Where did it start? Many years ago; In a monastery in the Swedish outbacks.





	1. Chapter 1

He was a rowdy child, merely a boy when he was initiated into the church, he had memories of what was before, but as an adult, he was happy with where he had ended up.

  


Wild and intense, he’d disobey and run away and do what he pleased more often than not, unavoidably earning himself harsh scoldings once he was caught.

Badly tempered, misbehaved, loud.

 

His first years with the church were spent in a hidden monastery out in the Swedish outbacks, where they practiced their religion in peace.

The grounds were big, surrounded by forest and wild, grim nature. Beneath; tunnels, unending tunnels. It was never mentioned why they were there, and no one was supposed to go down there. It never stopped him from exploring anywhere he decided.

He knew the monastery better than anyone, he’d climb and hide where no one could follow. It wasn’t always enough to escape the consequences of his behaviour, sadly.

 

He drove many of the monks mad on a regular basis, and their disciplining could get physical.

Being told to stand silently turned towards a corner for hours was a bust, when they didn’t look, he vanished, and they had to waste time finding him.

Unfortunately, some were more than willing to take on even more archaic measures of “sorting him out”.

  


One day, after a particularly bad episode, he was hiding up on the rafters of the bell tower. No one except him could climb up here, anyway. All those old men weighed too much, or they were just, yeah, too old. There wasn’t much room up there, and nowhere to run, but this was where he’d hidden. He knew he’d get it worse than he’d ever been punished before, but this time, he was regretful.

 

He had smashed one of the stained glass windows, they were ancient, but beautiful, he enjoyed standing in the chapel as the sun shone through them, throwing colorful light across his face.

The one he’d smashed was his favorite, the one of Lucifer falling because of his arrogance.

He watched as the glimmering pieces of colored glass fell, crashing and splitting in hundreds of crystalline fragments on the stone floor.

 

It was an accident.

 

As he ran from the chapel, he heard yells of fury echo behind him, followed by loud footsteps.

 

They didn’t catch him.

  
  


Had they given up and stopped looking? He wondered if he could sneak past them to a new hiding spot, possibly just taking up permanent residence in the forest… That’d be nice, he’d make it on his own, he figured.

Although it’d get cold in the winter, so maybe not… There were always the tunnels too, they were never used, anyway, and he could steal food from the kitchen easily at night.

 

While he considered his options, he was suddenly alerted to footsteps on the old stairs, as someone walked up.

It wasn’t time to ring the bell yet, and it was starting to get dark outside.

 

The boy crawled back further on the rafters, in the corner, making him hard to spot, and he went deathly silent.

 

The footsteps had a weight to them, yet somehow they were light, lithe even. He listened to each step as they ascended to the highest floor of the monastery, then stopped.

 

The tower was cold, with only thin glass panes on the slim windows. The boy found himself not even breathing and the silence was stifling, he could hear his own heartbeat in his ears.

Why was he this scared, all of a sudden?

 

He felt a jolt in his spine when he heard the floorboards creak beneath, whoever that was moving beneath was silent. Maybe they weren’t even looking for him? The tower had a bit of space for storage, after all.

 

The child tried to calm himself, amongst the dusty rafters, it was dark, and in his own dark uniform, he hoped he’d be invisible up there.

 

Yet, despite his fear, his curiosity got the better of him.

 

He leaned forward carefully to peek down between the wooden beams, throwing a hand over his mouth as he spotted a dark, hooded figure way closer beneath him than the boy had expected.

Most of the clergy wore the dark robes, this one was big, though, really big. He was almost tall enough for the top of his hood to drag along the rafters. He moved far more silently than one would expect of a man that height. He moved with his hands tucked in his sleeves as he turned and walked over towards the crates in the corner, and the boy let out a sigh of relief in his head, leaning back against the cold wall behind him. He shut his eyes, and he just needed to wait.

 

There was a sudden, loud screech of one of the wooden planks close by, and the boy’s heart skipped a beat as his head shot up, staring ahead, only to be met with a pair of dark, intense eyes staring at him from over a beam.

 

“Ahh!!” The boy cried out in surprise and fear, he hadn’t even heard he man walk closer again.

 

The man had pulled himself up with his hands enough to get a view of him, and only that made the wood groan with stress.

The man said nothing, his eyes disappearing as he let go, landing with a surprisingly soft sound, but the boy heard the quick footsteps coming closer beneath him and he braced himself.

The two hands shot up between the planks and grabbed him by the waist, pulling him down.

“Ahh- ow!” He struggled at first, but was quickly put down on his feet, at which he stopped and craned his neck up at the man, nervous.

 

The man looked down at him, expression serious and cold, betraying nothing in his silence. The boy realized he recognized him, but just barely. He was a quiet figure and he wasn’t sure what his duties were, but their paths almost never crossed, except for in the dining hall and during sermon. Even then, the boy couldn’t recall ever interacting with him. He thought he’d seen him talk to talk to one of the other boys a few times, possibly his son, they looked alike. Same brown hair and dark eyes.

 

The boy frowned, shoulders tense as he backed away from him for a moment, then looked down.

It was unlike him to not stand his ground once he was caught, or to dispute, but right now; already feeling guilty and under the scrutinizing dark eyes of this cleric, he couldn’t be brave.

 

“I know I messed up.” The boy mumbled, not daring to look at the man, who scared him with his plain lack of scorn or any other reaction.

 

“Let’s go.” The tall man finally spoke, putting a hand on the boy’s shoulders before leading him to the stairs. He didn’t struggle this time.

 

He wasn’t sure just how the monks were going to punish him this time, but he had a feeling it’d be worse than anything he’d been through before. With every step he took through the not yet candlelit hallways, in the midst of twilight, his heart beat a little bit faster.

_Just what would they do to him for this?_

 

Was that why the tall man was so quiet? Did he know?

 

He walked in front of the big man, silent.

 

Down the corridor, the doorway to the dining room was open, warm firelight flooding out over the cold stone floor.

There were a few voices inside, voices he recognized as the elders who loved him _oh so much._

The voices fell silent as they approached the doorway, and he felt like a criminal on his way to be hanged, as he had read in some books in the library.

He let his head hang low, a small whimper escaping his lips, knowing what was coming.

 

He felt the man come up next to him, his hand heavy on his shoulder as it lead him…

 _Past_ the doorway.

 

The boy looked up in confusion, and there were sounds from the room they had just passed of similar tone.

He felt the man pick up speed, his long legs moving faster, but still holding onto the boy, who had to jog to keep up with him.

 

“Hey!” A voice sounded from behind them, just coming out the dining hall, the voice called the man brother, and supposedly the man’s name, for the boy didn’t recognize it. Either way, there was anger in the voice, but the cleric kept walking, leading the boy away. He didn’t understand what was going on, wasn’t he getting punished?

 

The echoes of their footsteps mixed with those of several pairs behind them, trying to catch up.

 

The man’s name was called again.

“Where are you goi- Wait- Stop! You’re not supposed to disturb the Abbot! And the Cardinal-” The monks, still far behind them seemed to realize where they were heading, picking up pace.

 

_The Abbot?_

 

The boy had no time to let his heart sink or register the second title, just then, the man pulled him with him as he pushed through the door they had just reached.

 

“...ccident, of course, but nothing you need worry abo-” Words spoken were interrupted as the two barged in, the door closing roughly behind them.

 

The boy found himself in the office of the Abbot, in charge of the monastery.

 

He’d never actually been in there, but it was spacious, with carved furniture, tapestries, bookcases and small statues of various figures of their faith on display.  

Two men were seated by the large stone fireplace that heat up the room, the light playing across their wrinkled features as they looked at the uninvited duo.

The boy noticed the reverted, ornate cross that stood on display on the mantelpiece, and the weight of the situation pushed down on him further.

 

“What is this interruption?” The Abbot demanded with agitation, his shaggy eyebrows producing folds above his nose as he scowled.

 

“I found the boy, your grace. As you asked.” The man said after waist-deep bow, hand leaving the boy’s shoulder as he bowed to the two men, before folding his arms behinds his back.

 

“ _Not_ right now, can’t you _see_ that I am entertaining the _cardinal?_ ” The Abbot hissed through his teeth, pointedly nodding his head towards the older man beside him, who didn’t seem especially affronted about the interruption, in fact, the boy noticed that he had a peculiar little smile on his lips when he looked at the tall man.

 

“Long time no see,” the cardinal spoke the man’s name fondly, “How’s your boy doing?”

He was the same as the Abbot, in his sixties, the boy guessed. He was old and wrinkly, like most of the people he knew. For a Cardinal he was surprisingly ordinary looking, in only a simple black cassock and inverted cross around his neck. It was the eyes that made the boy nervous.

 

“Your Eminence,” the tall man greeted back and bowed again, “Better than this one.”

 

“Now out, let the monks deal with h-” Once again, the Abbot was interrupted as a red faced, gasping man burst through the door, albeit alone as he shut the door behind him. The boy heard muttering outside.

 

“Abbot- Please excuuuhssee- Hahh- Excuse them, W-we tried to stop them-” He wiped his neck with a napkin from his pocket, but when he saw the boy, his eyes turned dark and spiteful. The child glared back, looking braver than he felt.

“That’s _him_ , yes. The entire window, destroyed! Right in front of one of the Brothers! It was centuries old- Completely insubordinate, but I’ll make sure he’s appropriately disciplined, please excuse us, Father Abbot, your Eminence.” He ranted with little attempt to hide his contempt, bowing low for the two superiors, before grabbing the boy who squirmed by his arm and eyeing his taller brother with suspicion, whom hadn’t looked away from the monk since the moment he stepped inside. The cleric’s hand shot out and took the boy’s shoulder again, and so, the boy didn’t move.

 

“What is the intended punishment?” The Cardinal asked, making the monk stop in place, turning around. “He’s… A troublesome child, your Eminence. We are considering starting with a flogging, then going from there.”

The boy froze, swallowing hard.

 

“That seems… Copious. Don’t you think?” The Cardinal drawled matter-of-factly, leaning back.

 

“Y-yes, Copious, but appropriate. We are doing our utmost to teach him to be the good acolyte but we’ve had to reprimand him harshly; He is stubborn and will not obey.”

 

“And he never will, with that approach.” The Cardinal’s experienced eyes looked at the monk, wrinkles shifting as he smiled. His words were friendly, the look in his eyes _unimpressed_.

“There are considerately more constructive ways of dealing with this, brother.”

 

The Abbot shifted uncomfortably next to the Cardinal, the monk was possibly redder in the face now than when he entered.

 

“Of course, your Eminence...” The monk said carefully, “What do you intend?”

 

“You have pictures, original artwork of the window?” The cardinal asked, and the monk stopped, not expecting the question. His eyes darted to the Abbot whose eyes were distant, trying to remember if they did.

 

“We do, Cardinal.” The cleric informed before the silence would confirm their lack of knowledge.

 

“Good, good. Then I’d like to ask you to run me some errands tomorrow.” Their superior smiled at the cleric first, who bowed.

“Of course, your Eminence.”

The Cardinal then turned with a pleased expression towards the Abbot and the monk.

“Alright, then. I suppose the boy must have missed dinner, make sure he gets something in him, then send him off to bed, yes? We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

 

“As you say, Cardinal.” The Abbot said respectfully, nodding to the cleric first, then the monk.

  


The boy wasn’t sure what just happened, but met eyes with the cardinal for a moment, he smiled and nodded at him, at which the boy looked away unsurely.

 

The cleric and monk bowed to them before leaving, and the small group of outside parted as the cleric lead him through them.

 

As the two walked away towards the kitchen, the boy suddenly gasped, like he’d been holding his breath. He felt the clawlike grip on his shoulder loosen and he glanced up at the man whilst catching his breath.

The cleric looked at him, there was something in them; pity? Malice? The boy couldn’t tell.

  


As the boy went to bed that night, fed and yet unpunished; He wondered what had happened, and what tomorrow held in store for him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day of punishment comes.

 

The next morning, he woke up as usual, not yet recalling the trouble he’d been in the night before.

  
  


He got dressed, prepared for the day, before he and the other boys headed towards the dining room to eat breakfast.’

 

It wasn’t until he was halfway through his plate that memories from yesterday flooded back to him, and he had to put his fork down as dizziness overtook him.

He hadn’t been punished yet.

 

The Cardinal had something in mind, what could it possibly be that required someone to leave to find him the things needed? He said it’d be a long day today, oh old one what was going to happen to him?

 

He must have looked pale, because the boy across the table leaned forward.

Dark eyes caught his and he recognized him as the cleric’s son.

 

“Are you okay…?” The son asked, using his name, which made the boy blink.

 

“Uh… Yes. I’m alright.” He replied. They never talked much, the two of them… The son was just one of the other children, they never talked to him, hardly looked at him. He was surprised the other even knew his name.

 

“Liar, I wouldn’t be alright. The Cardinal is scary.” 

 

The boy frowned in annoyance, looking up, and was suddenly aware of the looks he was getting around the hall. They knew; he wasn’t sure what, more than him? Less? 

Information spread quickly here, not that there was much to get excited about most of the time. 

His chest felt tight, but he had nothing to say… The son did, though, continuing.

 

“We’re going with him, when he leaves. Dad told me.” He said, face turned down, his hair obstructing view of his face.

 

The boy raised his eyebrows in surprise.

 

“You’re… Going with him? Where? When?”

 

“Italy… The day after tomorrow.” The son said, poking at some sausage on his plate. “He told me the Cardinal offered him to come with and work with the Clergy… He knows Italian… So…”

 

“Do you?”

 

“...No… I’ll learn.”’

 

“Won’t you be lonely?”

 

“Dad told me there’s other children there… But… I don’t know, I have friends here. But I don’t want Dad to go alone.”

 

“I don’t have any friends here… But Italy is… So far away… And going with the old man...” The boy pondered, if he had the choice, would he have left this place? Even if he knew that the next place could be worse? The Cardinal  _ was  _ really intimidating, the son was right. Just something about how he held himself, how he spoke. With authority. He spoke politely but…

 

The boy wouldn’t have hesitated to leave if he only had someone he trusted.

 

“I wouldn’t mind, being your friend.” The son says, peeking up under his hair.

 

The boy looked back at him, expression still.

 

“Isn’t it a little late to say that now…?” He said, almost exasperated, and the son chewed on his bottom lip guiltily.

 

“Yeah… I just… I never found a good time to talk to you.” He admitted, and the boy looked at him for a while.

 

“I wouldn’t have dared talking to me, either.” He agreed, but then smiled a little. “We’ll be friends then. For two days.”

 

The son smiled back, and nodded.

 

The two boys turned back to their breakfast. There was a sense of… Understanding.

  
  


Once they were both finished, as if on queue, the cleric walked up behind his son, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. The son looked up and smiled a little.

 

“Hey, dad.” He greeted, the cleric gave a small smile back before looking at the boy blankly.

 

“Come with me.” He said, squeezing his son’s shoulder goodbye before he let go and walked over to the door.

 

“Good luck.” The son said, offering what the boy assumed to be a comforting smile, but it turned out looking like he was feeling sick.

  
  


He started trembling as the tall man led him through the monastery in silence, heart beating at the same speed as he made guesses about what was coming. The child considered booking it, just out of instinct, but something stopped him. Maybe it was his guilt, his belief that he deserved punishment this time- But also possibly the fact that he was deathly afraid of having to be chased by the cleric. He was also… Very intimidating. And the boy had a feeling he could move far faster than it seemed.

 

He decided against his impulse, for once, and looked around.

The boy rarely ever came to this part of the monastery, it was just rooms for study from what he knew. The air was chilly, the fires had not yet heated up the building.

 

They came to a door, and the man knocked. 

 

A voice he recalled invited them inside..

The man opened the door, letting the boy step inside before the cleric bowed to the Cardinal, who nodded. The boy found his manners somehow and made a stiff half-bow.

 

“I’ll take it from here.” The Cardinal said.

  
  


The door shut behind the boy, and he stood silent in place, he didn’t dare speak, move or breathe normally, lest he’d mess up. But then something caught his attention.

_ Colors. _ On the floor;  _ red, green, blue _ . Many more.

 

A spectrum of color shone on the stone floor.

He looked up, the cold morning sun, cascading through the thin windows; broke in the colored glass panes mounted on the floor. Dust danced like snowflakes through the rays of light.

 

He blinked, confused, eyes slowly exploring more of the room, it didn’t look like it was used much. There was a robust table in the center, covered with tools.

The Cardinal sat by the table, looking at him.

 

He was smiling.

  
  


The boy hadn’t even realized how silent the room had been until the older man spoke his name.

“Good morning.” The boy stared, still not understanding what was happening, why he was here.

“I’m getting punished.” The boy stated, eyes trailing off to the glass panes again. He was supposed to get punished, wasn’t he? He realized he was supposed to speak respectfully to this man, and swallowed hard.

“Y-your Eminence.” That’s what everyone called him, right?

 

The old man clucked.

 

“Why don’t you sit down?” He offered, pulling out the chair next to him.

 

The boy felt like he was rooted to the rock beneath his feet, so confounded was he, his mind still laced with fear threatening him like thorns.

 

“Come on now, neither of us are getting any younger.” The Cardinal tried again, eyes softer this time.

The boy looked at him briefly.

With any luck, he could wait and maybe the man would die of old age before the boy had to take his punishment.

 

He felt bad for thinking the thought, the man wasn’t  _ that  _ old…

Finally, he found strength in his legs to walk over and sit on the chair, at first just staring down between his knees. The Cardinal opened an old book that sat in front of them on the table, and the boy recognized something in it out of the corner of his eye.

 

He looked, and gasped, putting his hands on the table to get up closer as he stared.

 

“It’s...!” On the old page in front of him, he saw a vibrant illustration of the Archangel Lucifer falling from heaven. “The window! The window looked just like this!” He exclaimed and looked towards the Cardinal, who smiled.

 

“It is. You recognized it, hmm?” He noted, dark eyes calmly turning from the page to the boy, who flinched a little and sat back down on his chair.

 

“I liked it, a lot.” He mumbled, averting his gaze.

 

“And you still broke it?” The Cardinal wondered, albeit lacking accusation. The boy still jumped to his own defense.

 

“It was an accident! I didn’t mean to!” The boy protested as he turned to stare at the older man, mayhaps louder than he meant to, his face went hot when he caught himself and he crossed his arms, staring down at his black robe.

 

“Hmm...” The man nodded slowly in thought. “I see. Well… No matter. What’s done is done, my boy. All we can do now is move on.” 

 

The boy frowned, glancing first at the man, then the page.

 

“So why am I here…?” The boy asked slowly and the cardinal gave off a soft laugh.

 

“Isn’t it obvious?”

 

The boy took a moment, looking at the rest of the table, large pieces of paper with sketches and measurements on them, tools, some electrical, even…

The boy blinked, and looked at the man again, whose eyes glimmered amusedly.

 

“What...”

 

“You’re helping me make a new window.”

 

The boy’s mouth fell open. Why? But he… He destroyed it, he was supposed to be penalized! This wasn’t bad- This wouldn’t hurt… Was this a test? Was he being tricked? Did he have to do this flawlessly, or else?

 

His feelings must have been plain on his face, for the Cardinal sighed, his voice gentle.

 

“I see this is not what you expected, I figure you were ready for something much worse.” He started, raising his hand from the table just briefly, like he was about to do something, but then stopped. “You’re used to much harsher disciplining… That has clearly done no good in the past, from what I hear. So this time, you’re doing it differently.”

 

When the boy said nothing, he reached for an old photograph. When the man showed it to him, he saw that it was a picture taken inside the chapel, the pews were filled with hooded figures, but there was also a view of the wall, and its many windows, and there in the corner, slightly blurry but unmistakably- It was the window.

“We’ll use this as reference for the patterns, sounds good?” He said, handing the photo to the boy, who stared at it. He turned the photograph and saw a scribble in the corner, 23 September -50, and beneath it said  _ Höstdagjämningen _ .

 

“Almost forty years old, that photo... Fromt the Autumnal Equinox.”

 

“Are you in it?” The boy asked, looking closer, scanning the faces of the people in the photo.

“You know, I think I might be… I was very young back then. Around twenty, I believe.” The Cardinal hummed, looking closer, until he pointed at a young man in the third row on the right side of the pews. 

 

“There I am.” The boy looked closer, the man in the photo had dark, combed back hair, visible due to his hood not being pulled forward much. He looked mildly bored, but he was unmistakably a good looking man.

 

The boy looked up at the cardinal, now with much thinner, gray hair, and a lot of wrinkles.

 

“But you were so handsome.” The boy commented without thinking, and the Cardinal laughed heartily.

 

“I suppose that’s what age does!” He said, still smiling. “Our masses used to be held here, during the solstices, equinoxes and other holidays.”

 

“The church has been around for a long time...” The boy said silently, and the Cardinal nodded.

 

“A very long time.” They looked at each other, and suddenly the boy realized, the fear was gone. The older man raised his eyebrows.

 

“Should we get started?”

  
  


They worked throughout the day, making the patterns, imitating the artwork, cutting glass, making framing… The Cardinal was very informative, and patient. The boy eventually dropped his guard and worked eagerly. They talked, about… Anything, really. It was easy to talk to the old man, it was so different from how everyone else spoke to him. The… Condescending tones, treating him like some wild animal… The Cardinal treated him like a thinking, feeling person. It was so strange to the boy, who naturally grew suspicious of acts of kindness, otherwise.

 

Yet the boy concentrated hard to not mess up, by the end of the day- They weren’t finished, but they had come a long way.

 

It had gone dark outside since long, and the only light they had was two candles. Beyond their light his eyes couldn't make out the walls in the darkness of the room. It felt like sitting in a warm, silent bubble. Just him and the old man, working. The boy eventually sighed however and leaned back in his chair.

 

“Tired?” The Cardinal asked, shaping some framing with deft fingers.

 

“N-no, I’m okay...” The boy said, sitting up quickly and reaching for his marker to keep drawing patterns for the smaller glass pieces.

 

“You’ve been working hard, today.” The Cardinal said with a chuckle, rolling his sleeve up to check the simple wristwatch he wore. “But I think it’s about time we stop. It’s eleven o’clock. Past your bedtime, is it not?”

 

“But-” The boy protested meekly, but then stopped and looked sadly at the work they'd done so far. “...It's not done...”

 

The Cardinal looked at him, then at the unfinished project, and he was silent for a moment before he snorted softly.

 

“No, we're not.” he agreed, and the boy looked at him. “But we're finishing it tomorrow, my child. Don't worry.”

 

The boy's eyes lit up, and he nodded.

 

“Alright...” he said, hesitating, he wanted to say something, but he wasn't sure what. He got off his chair.

 

“Well done, you’ve learned fast. Same time tomorrow, I wager you won't need an escort, hm?” The old man said and winked, and the boy gave a slow nod of agreement.

  
  
  


The dormitory was cold, windows open as the other boys slept. He climbed silently into bed, an unfamiliar feeling in his gut. He wasn't sure if he'd ever felt it before, and as he lied there, he stared into the ceiling for a few minutes while trying to identify it.

 

He couldn’t actually recall the last time that anyone had praised him for anything… Then again, he never felt the compulsion to do anything worth praising, he didn’t feel like the monks deserved to experience his good behaviour. So why bother? Then again, he’d be lying if he said he liked the way things were here for him in the monastery, but if he wasn’t here, wouldn’t it be worse for him somewhere else? The world outside was cruel, they’d say. Worse than here?

The last two days had been different, though… He just then remembered, he had a friend now, apparently.

 

Speaking of… 

He heard his name whispered, and he turned his head to the left, beyond was the rest of the dormitory, rows of beds with sleeping children, fifteen in total.

Some were snoring soundly.

The room was very dark, but against the backdrop of where the moonlight broke through the two cracked windows on the wall furthest into the room, he could see a figure at the end of his bed.

He recognized that voice though.

 

“Are you awake…?” The son asked very softly, he was in his pajamas, the same plain one they all owned. Had he gotten out of his bed to come and check on him? 

 

“Yes.” The boy answered, and the son walked up to the head of his bed, the sound of his naked feet padding across the cold, hard floor. The boy could sort of make out his face in the darkness.

 

“How did it go…? You were gone all day.”

 

The boy realized that they had both thought he’d be severely punished by the Cardinal, boy, did he have some news!

 

He thought for a moment, but then remembered that the room was very cold, and it sounded like the son was barefoot. He moved back to the edge of his bed and held his cover up for the son.

The other did not take long to consider the offer before he slipped under the cover, and the boy moved it up over their heads.

Everything was dark under the cover, and at first there was only their breathing, soft puffs on each other’s faces. The beds weren’t big, but they both fit sort of comfortably.

 

“We don’t have to be as quiet, like this.” The boy explained, not sure why he needed to. The son didn’t reply to that, so he continued.

 

“We’re making a new window.”

The son remained silent for a moment before replying.

 

“What…?”

 

“Yes! I’m… I’m not being punished, at all. The Cardinal… He’s… Sort of nice.”

 

“Really…? The other boys were guessing what was happening to you, since you didn’t show up for lunch.” The son said, he sounded relieved. 

 

“Yeah, I ate there… But we’re making a new window, just like the one I broke.” He fell silent.

 

“I really thought they’d hurt me...” He admitted, voice small, trembling for a second, even. He wasn’t sure why he was admitting this to the son, but he… He was nice? And he said he wanted to be his friend… Was that what friends did? Tell each other things like this? The boy only saw it from afar, or read it in books.

 

“Yeah… I think the other kids did too. But… So the Cardinal is alright…? Whenever dad talks about him he’s very respectful and serious...”

 

“Isn’t your dad always serious…?” The boy asked skeptically. “Actually, he scares me.”

 

The son gave off the first laugh the boy had ever heard from him, it was a breathy titter. The boy found it contagious, and soon they were both choking giggles.

 

When they calmed down, the son was the first to speak.

 

“He’s not  _ always _ serious. And he’s not scary to me.”

 

“Well you know him, I don’t.” The boy chuckled.

 

“True...”

 

They were silent for a while, the boy wasn't falling asleep though. By the sound of the son’s breathing, neither was he.

 

“Will you miss this place?” the boy finally asked.

 

“I… Don't think so.”

 

“What about your friends…?”

 

“They're idiots. But they're the only ones I can stand around here. I wish I had your courage. To be alone.”

 

The boy scoffed.

 

“It's not courage, trust me.” A wind rattled the windows softly, the gusts wailed distantly against the building.

 

The son breathed in.

 

“Sorry… I guess it's not as cool as it looks when you go around, escaping the monks.”

 

“I looked cool?”

 

“I guess, no one could catch you.” The son snickered, the boy smiled in the darkness.

 

“Anyway… This place is boring.”

 

“What?” The boy had to remember to keep his voice down. “The woods, the tower, there's tons of places, there's-” he stopped.

 

“The tunnels.”

 

“The what?”

 

“You want to be my friend- Then I should take you on at least one adventure before you go, right? Then you can remember me. Come on, I'll show you something awesome!” he explained, hardly trying to hide his excitement.

 

“Now? We should be sleeping!”

 

“Well, we're not.” the boy sat up, throwing the covers off and breathing in the fresh air of the room. 

The son was still lying down, he was frowning.

 

“We shouldn't.” he said in a small voice, sitting up.

 

The boy stopped, then sighed. Maybe his friend wasn't adventurous.

 

The son slid his legs down the edge of the bed.

 

“Let me get my shoes.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not the adventure they expected.

 

“Cardinal, If I may speak bluntly…?”

 

“You may.”

 

“We have tried for... _Years_ with this child, he just won’t cooperate. You shouldn’t have to worry yourself, we’ll find a place for him, possibly putting him back into society. He’s been adamant to learn nothing here, so we’re thinking it’d be fairly safe. The social welfare office will make sure he gets the help he needs.” There was a silence, before the Abbot spoke again. “He’s just… the way he is, your Eminence. Don’t waste your time on him.”

 

There was more silence, interrupted only by the faint crackle and occasional snap of the fire.

 

“Time spent on children is never wasted, Brother. You are not very resourceful here, I've noticed. I know these are the outbacks and you do things the old way…” Came his response and there was a sigh in his voice, “Your idea of ‘doing all you could’ clearly has not amounted to much. How I see it, by the way you’ve gone about things… Is that you’ve been wasting _his_ time.”

 

No words were spoken for a while after that, possibly from the embarrassed Abbott digesting the harsh words, trying to find his own to respond to it in a respectful manner.

 

“I… I see. Of course, Cardinal.” There was a moment where the two drank from two cups with something warm. “If… If anyone was to see potential in him, I'm not surprised it'd be you.”

 

The Cardinal chuckled.

 

“I find that discipline handled poorly does little to teach a child anything… Perhaps that's something to consider for the future.”

 

“I'll keep that in mind.” There was a soft clink as the Abbott put his cup down, changing subject. “It is sad to see the Cleric go. He's been very helpful in my service. The archives have never been that organized, either. But I can see why you'd want him back. How come you put such a capable man here? Of course he's been appreciated… But has he not been needed more somewhere else?”

 

The Cardinal took a moment to consider the question, before finally replying. 

 

“He was definitely most needed here, Brother.” Was the short answer, and when the Abbot didn't seem pleased with that answer, the Cardinal rose. “It is getting late, If I'll be holding mass for you all tomorrow evening and I'm finishing the window with the boy during the day, I'll need my sleep.”

 

“Of course, Your Eminence. Good night.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

By the light of a lone candle, held out by the handle, the two boys walked the corridors of the sleeping monastery.

The son kept close, nervous, but visibly determined, and excited. This wasn’t the first time the boy had walked the halls in the night, he liked it actually, by no means was he afraid of the dark, or much _else_ , for that matter. He had a box of matches in his pocket, just in case, he knew it could get drafty.

 

“What… What did you mean by tunnels…?” The son asked even quieter than when they were under the covers, “I never knew about there being anything like that here.”

 

“I don’t even think the monks do.” The boy whispered back. “You’ll see, it’s ancient.”

 

The halls were quiet, so quiet their footsteps felt like smacks on the floors, despite the far off howl of the wind, but the night was forbearing, and their footsteps did not echo.

 

Everything felt so different in the darkness, with nothing but a candle leading the way. The flame fluttered willfully on its wick, the boy watched it, it made him feel safe, made him feel sure.

 

He knew just where to walk, past the entrance, through the dining room, through the kitchen into the courtyard, the candle blew out as they walked across the moonlit gravel where their shadows cast like black splotches on blue, towards the _really_ old part of the building that held the library and archives.

 

He knew that there was a hidden key under the steps up to the door, in the dirt. He reached in and rummaged around.

He couldn’t find it, maybe they’d gotten wise to just leaving keys just beneath the door, no matter.

 

Together, they got a window whose lock was broken open, and climbed through.

 

“This is where my dad works… In the archives.” The son whispered as they closed the window behind them. The air inside the library was thick with the smell of old books and dust, despite the somewhat frequent cleaning. Some places where just always that way, the boy supposed.

 

“Yeah, the entrance is in there, and no one has any clue.” The boy replied silently, watching his voice despite them being the only ones in the vast room.

He lit the candle again and the two boys ventured down large, tall rows of bookshelves, packed with volumes upon volumes of literature. You could get lost in there, and he had, a few times, but now he knew it better than anyone… He hid in there now and then to read, it was nice to escape reality with stories about even worse ones.

 

The floorboards creaked softly beneath the long woven rugs on the floor, and the son inhaled to say something when the boy turned in towards a door.

 

“The archive…? I’m in there sometimes, when dad isn’t too busy. I never suspected a thing... Did you know they have records from the 1600th century in here?” The son asked as they pushed through the thick wooden door, into a room that was somehow had even worse ventilation than the last.

White stone walls, small square windows, the room was long, cold. In the middle, more bookshelves with open backs, some drawers. The right and left walls were lined with desks and cabinets. There were old illustrations of the human anatomy, charts…

 

“I like the ones about alchemy...” The son said, the two of them looking at a few of the illustrations. “The symbols are cool. Dad is really into it.”

 

They approached a bookshelf in the very back of the room, it didn’t stand out at all, but next to the ones around it, filled with small jars of dead things in alcohol, human craniums and old tools used for who knows what; was exactly why this inconspicuously normal bookshelf _did_ stand out. There was nothing fragile on it.

 

“There’s nothing here...” The son commented doubtfully and glanced at the boy who handed him the candle holder.

 

The boy dug his fingers into the small space between the side of the bookshelf and the next one, and pulled. The son gasped when the bookshelf swung open like a door, perfectly silent, leaving no scrape marks on the floor.

 

A gaping black corridor threatened to swallow them on the other side of the bookshelf, a gust of cold, moist air even rushed out towards them, and when the boy looked at the son, he could see hesitation in his wide eyes.

 

“T-that… I’m...”

 

The boy walked over to the son and took the candle holder from him, then put an arm around his shoulders.

 

“It’s only darkness. Your dad is scarier than that, and you’re not scared of him.” The boy explained, and the son blinked before giving off a little laugh.

 

“I guess...”

 

“Besides, I’ve been in there plenty of times, haven’t died once.” The boy grinned, getting another laugh out of the son.

 

If it was possible for anything to be older than the library, this must have been it. Rough brick, dark with moisture passed by for several minutes, the dirt sloped down slightly until they came to a thin staircase leading down into more darkness.

 

The boy walked first, holding the son by the hand as they went.

 

The descent took almost ten minutes, but once they reached the end, it was a different world down there.

 

They had corridors upon corridors ahead of them, and as they explored, they found many, many empty rooms with nothing, except sometimes a cracked altar or a toppled podium in stone. Halls with pillars reaching further into the darkness than their eyes could see…

 

The only sounds they heard were the echoes of their own footsteps as they rippled into the depths, the sounds of dripping water from somewhere and the soft hum of the earth.

 

“I think we’re reaching the end of the tunnels here...” The boy finally said after what felt like hours of exploring, but surely, time just felt different down here. They were walking past a few rough columns that opened up into a hall, but ahead, there was another short corridor with a dead end.

 

“Yeah… That’s it.” The boy said, stopping and looking around with a smile. “Amazing that all of this is down here, and they have no clue?”

 

The son looked around too, admiration flickering in his eyes.

 

“It is… I still can’t believe it, it’s like a dream. What was this even used for? And when? It looks several hundred years old.” The other said and looked at the boy, who smiled widely.

 

“So how’s that for an adventure, huh?” He said and the son chuckled.

 

“It’s awesome, thank you.”

 

“It’s probably really late, we should probably go b-” The boy began, but a strange sound caught both their attention, coming from next to them, down the corridor with the dead end.

 

The two of them stared wide-eyed at each other before they turned their heads in unison, gasping when they saw that the wall at the end of the corridor was…

 

_Moving._ Pulsating… In the spaces between the bricks, light trickled out like sunrays through clouds. The bricks began shifting, all through what sounded like rattling, or a guttural, drawn out rumble. The entire area vibrated as the bricks began opening up a doorway on the wall.

 

The two stood frozen, watching- Until the boy shook his head and grabbed the son by the arm, just as a hot gust of moist air came rushing out of the slowly growing hole in the wall, snuffing out their candle.

 

“Come on-” The boy hissed and quickly pulled the son behind one of the pillars.

 

His heart was beating a hundred miles per hour as he peeked out from behind the collumn, hands on the wet, slippery rock. The son was hunching down beneath him to look, as well.

 

Upon squinting through the light they were not accustomed to down there, they saw that it was like there’d never even been a wall there at all, they could make out some kind of room beyond, but that was not what had them frozen in place.

 

There was a figure stepping out of it, lantern in hand, throwing a long shadow on the ground.

 

He gasped, but the sound, and any other was overtaken by what he could only describe as this… Growl, emanating out of the room. It was low, yet loud enough to make the walls tremble.

 

“ _Claudo._ ” A voice sounded through the noise, and it was like the room’s held its breath. The bricks began shifting once, moving in to close the passage.

 

The figure turned and faced the light, and the boys stared in disbelief for the last two seconds before the wall closed up to leave them in darkness.

 

It was the cleric.

 

 

* * *

 

The darkness pushed in on all sides in the silence, then there was a shift of fabric as the cleric got something out of his pocket, seconds later, he lit a match, then the lantern. He held it up just as the boy pulled the son away from view.

 

They were both deathly silent as they waited, the boy hoped the son wouldn’t try to approach his father, suddenly he had a feeling that they _really_ weren’t supposed to be down here.

 

But neither said anything, and they watched the light of the lantern bob past on the other side of the pillar, passing by each of the many down the way.

 

They listened to the footsteps fading out, but even when they could no longer hear them, and the sounds of dripping water and the empty hum of the earth returned, they remained there.

 

It felt like an eternity had passed by when the boy lit the candle again, but the son was the first to speak as he stared at the flame.

 

“That was… My dad.” He said, not daring to go above a whisper.

 

“Yeah… I… I had no clue he knew about this place or… I’ve never seen that room before, either...”

 

“This is really freaky....” The son said, rising from their hiding place behind the pillar. “He’s never said anything about this… But… Where did he come from?” He walked out and over towards the wall, and this time the boy was the one to hesitate.

 

“Careful!” He hissed. “The wall just… Opened up like some creepy mouth…!”

 

“Yeah… Then it closed...” The son agreed, but seemed curious. When the boy came closer with the candle to light up the wall it looked… Like any wall, just the same as before.

 

Everything was so quiet, had they just imagined the whole thing? It had been so loud, but now there really was nothing.

 

The boy handed the candle to the son, before touching the wall, getting close, and just almost putting his ear up against the wet rock.

 

“I can’t hear anything...”

 

“What was it dad said? ‘Claudo’, I think.” He said, looking at the wall before repeating himself. “ _Claudo._ ”

 

The two looked expectantly at the wall, nothing happened.

 

“It’s latin, I _think_ … Uhh… What does Claudo mean, again...” The son hummed and looked down thoughtfully.

 

The boy sort of liked the fact that they weren’t even asking themselves whether they should be trying to get inside the room or not.

 

“I have no clue, I think the Abbot knows latin?” The boy offered, and the son shook his head.

 

“I know a few words, they have latin dictionaries in the library… Ahh… Darn it… Wait, it could be similar to ‘cludo’, cludo means ‘close’!” The son realized and looked at the boy, who gasped.

 

“And it’s already closed, we need the latin word for ‘open’!” He said, excitement in his chest. “Do you kn-”

 

“ _Recludo._ ” The son whispered, and the effect was immediately felt through the ground.

 

The boy laughed in excitement, holding the other’s arm as they watched the wall open up again.

 

“That’s amazing! You know that much Latin?” He said over the increasing rumble, the son seemed shocked.

 

“I didn’t know it’d work.” He replied, and the two of them waited for the way to open up.

 

They stepped inside.

 

Instantly, the sound that had been radiating out of this room just seemed to soften, hush down, into a smoother hum.

 

The atmosphere changed, suddenly the air was warm and humid, a slight breeze seemed to be circling the room, but they couldn’t tell from where it came. The boy inhaled the scent of forest and dirt, noticing just the vaguest fog in the room.

 

The room was round, the bricks slanted up slightly towards the ceiling in spirals, giving the strangest pattern. The floor was… Very neat. Checkered, black and an aged off-white.

 

As strange as all that was, the thing that caught their attention was what was standing at the other end of the room.

 

It was another altar in darker stone, but this one was very well kept, no cracks. It was much larger than any of the other altars they’d seen so far, but it also looked… Older.

 

It had a back that rose from the behind the altar, shaping a large, inverted cross, which wasn’t anything new to them… There were stone discs mounted on the ends of the arms, as well as as one on the middle, one at the bottom and one at the top. Each one sporting some kind of marking.

 

The boy walked closer, squinting to try and make out the writing on the discs.

 

“Looks like...” He began, the son finishing his sentence, “Symbols.”

 

The marks, runes, whatever they were, lit up as they approached it, brightly. The two gasped at the sight, the symbols looked pretty much alike, except one. The bottom symbol shone an emerald green, the middle one was bright white, one on the left side blue, the right a fiery yellow, the one at the top, the one that was different, glowed faintly in a dark purple hue.

 

“What… Is this? Why was your dad in here?” The boy asked, staring at the discs in disbelief.

 

“I have no clue… I think I’ve seen these symbols before, though...” The son replied and the boy swung around towards him.

 

“You have?!”

 

“Yes… I can’t remember where from, though. This room is so weird...”

 

The two looked around, there was nothing else in the room, just this altar, and those symbols. The two walked up to the altar, but neither did anything.

 

“So… What now…? Do we… Touch them?” The boy wondered, looking at each of the symbols again, the light they produced seemed… Alive, pulsating.

 

“No! I... I don’t think we should… I’ve got the weirdest feeling from this room… Like...” The son trailed off, frowning slightly.

 

“...like they’re watching us.” The boy said, and the son nodded.

 

“I think we should leave them… They’re… Probably down here for a reason. I want to know what they are, though... ”

 

“Yeah, me too.” The boy mumbled, before they took in the room again, full of wonder. This really... Was here. They did not feel unsafe, but there was a sense of… Reverence. The one to finally speak was the son.

 

“I’ll check the library tomorrow, and tell you after bedtime if I find anything.”

 

The two boys looked at each other. This really did turn into an adventure, or a mystery, even. Hopefully it was one they could see solved, too.

 

The son smiled, so did he.


End file.
